Portable shelter



July 3, 1962 E. GABRIEL PORTABLE SHELTER Filed Oct. 20, 1959 INVENTOR. Gab/u'eZ Effie United States Patent Dfifice 3,042,053 Patented July 3, 1962 3,042,053 PORTABLE SHELTER Effie Gabriel, 1151 Ogden St. Extension, Bridgeport, Conn. Filed Oct. 20, 1959, Ser. No. 847,559 1 Claim. (Cl. 135-5) This invention relates to a shelter, and more particularly to a cabana-like article which is well adapted for use at the beach for protection against the heat from the sun, wind and rain.

An object of this invention is to provide a shelter which is extremely light in weight and foldable so as to be easily transported and handled.

A feature of the invention is the extreme simplicity of the shelter, and as a result is economical to manufacture and easily set up and taken down by persons of ordinary intelligence and strength.

Other features and advantages will hereinafter appear.

In the accompanying drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective View of the shelter of the present invention showing it in the position of use.

FIG. 2 is a front view showing the shelter folded for transportation and storage.

FIG. 3 is a transverse section of the upper brace for holding the supporting tubes properly spaced apart.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the shelter showing in dotted lines the brace folded and in broken lines the position of one of the tubes when it is moved toward the other.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation of the shelter of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an edge view of one of the braces.

FIG. 7 is a face view' of one of the braces.

In the simplest form of the invention, the shelter of the present invention comprises two rigid members 10, preferably tubes of aluminum or other lightweight material, forming the supporting structure of the shelter. In manufacture, the tubes may be bent to any desired shape, but advantageously the tubes 10 may have a substantially straight front portion 11 merging with a downwardly and rearwardly curved portion 12 at rather sharp bends 13 at the upper front portion.

The top of the shelter comprises a cover strip 14 of fabric, such as awning material for instance, or it may be of plastic material if desired. The strip 14 has its longitudinally extending edge portions 15 secured to the supporting tubes 10. The edge portions 15 of the strip 14 may be folded-over and sewed to form tubes 16 adapted to receive the metal supporting tubes 10.

In use, the lower ends 17 of the tubes 10 are forced into the sand or earth, as the case may be, sufficiently to keep the tubes in parallel vertical planes with the tubes spaced laterally enough to keep the cover strip 14 taut, and when thus set up the shelter is self-sustaining under normal conditions and a person sitting or reclining beneath the cover strip may be protected against the suns rays and rain.

Preferably the cover strip 14 is of such length that it may be positioned on the tubes -10 so that its rear end 18 extends part-way down to the ground level and its front end 19 extends forwardly to the bends 13 at the vertical front portions 11 of the tubes.

Thus a person under the cover strip 14 may have visibility through the substantially open front end of the shelter and yet be protected overhead and at the back.

The cover strip 14 may be positioned to extend farther down at the front and/or higher at the back if desired.

When it is desired to take down the shelter, it is merely necessary to pull the ends 17 of the tubes 10 from the sand or earth and press the tubes 10 together as shown in FIG. 2--the cover strip 14 folding between the tubes 10. In this collapsed condition, the shelter may be conveniently stowed in the trunk of an automobile or other place to be carried to and from the beach for instance.

To stabilize the shelter more securely against collapse as in strong winds, the tubes 10 may be braced against moving relatively toward or from each other. This may be done by providing rigid transverse braces 20 and 21 (preferably lightweight metal strips) between the tubes 10.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the braces 20 and 21 may each comprise a pair of metal bars 22 hinged together at 23 at the middle of the shelter and having their other ends pivotally connected to clamps 24 secured to the opposite tubes 10. The bars 22 of each pair at their connected ends are provided with detent means 25 for holding the bars 22 in straight-line position so as to transmit axial thrust in either direction.

To avoid the possibility of the bars 22 being forced upwardly beyond their straight-line positions shown in FIGS. 3 and 7, one of the bars 22 extends beyond the other at their connected ends and has an ear 22a to engage the underside of the other bar when the detent 25 is in latching position. For the same reason, the ends of the bars 22, where they are pivoted to the clamps 24, have laterally projecting ears 22b positioned to engage the clamps if the bars 22 are forced upwardly beyond their straight-line positions.

To collapse the braces 20 and 21, as when it is desired to fold the shelter when not in use, it is merely necessary to apply pressure to the connected ends of the bars 22 to overcome the latch effect of the detents 25 permitting the braces to fold as shown in FIG. 2.

The forward brace 20 may be located below the lower first edge of the cover strip 14 while the brace 21 is located at the upper portion of the shelter. To permit this to be conveniently done, the cover strip 14 may be notched out at 26 so that the clamps 24 may directly engage the tubes 10.

It will be appreciated that by loosening the clamps 24 and sliding them and the cover strip along the tubes 10, the position of the cover may be varied to suit the desire or convenience of the user.

Variations and modifications may be made within the scope of the claim and portions of the improvements may be used without others.

I claim:

A portable shelter comprising two arched rigid frame members each having substantially straight front and rear terminal portions for insertion in the ground to support the frame members substantially perpendicularly to the ground with the members in parallel vertical planes and spaced laterally from each other, each frame member having a substantially straight front portion perpendicular to the ground and curved portions extending upwardly and then downwardly and rearwardly to form an arch, a pair of articulated brace members connecting the frame members to hold the frame members in spaced relation, one of said brace members being disposed adjacent the 3 junction of the front portion and said curved portion and the other being disposed adjacent the top of the arch formed by the curved portion, and an elongate flexible cover strip connected to and spanning the space between said frame members and supported by said brace members to provide shelter from the sun and rain, said cover strip extending from points adjacent said rear terminal portions to at least the straight front portions whereby the back edge of the cover strip is close to the ground while the front edge of the cover strip is elevated enough to permit an unobstructed forward view from the interior of the shelter, the portions of the frame members intermediate said terminal portions rising a distance above the ground level to elevate said cover strip sufficiently to 4 permit a person to sit beneath the cover strip when the shelter is supported on the ground, said articulated brace members being collapsible to permit the frame members to be brought together in compact relation to facilitate moving and handling of the portable shelter.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,061,547 Kennedy et al May 13, 1913 1,608,242 Sava NOV. 23, 1926 2,055,044 Nelson Sept. 22, 1936 2,190,566 Julian Feb. 13, 1940 2,889,840 McIlwaine June 9, 1959 

